A Sound All It's Own (reprinted from Covenant Connections for Pastors Nov. 2006 issue)
It seems that the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement is going through somewhat of an identity crisis. The passion of our worship has always been one of our distinguishing characteristics. Our movement was birthed in services in which people shouted, danced, and worshipped with abandon. There is almost a tendency to distance ourselves from that now. In addition, many mainline churches have begun to imitate a more charismatic style in recent years. While we applaud all true worship, one can’t help wondering if we would all do well to remember that it is not the style but the heart that creates true worship. And though we certainly never want to cultivate any attitude of superiority, we do acknowledge that there is a place in worship which can only be occupied by a Spirit-filled experience. Though our Pentecostal worship should never be a guise for pride, we must at the same time never let go of its distinction. It has a sound all its own.
Psalms 89:15 says, “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound.” Certain sounds in the earth possess creative force. We see this at creation when God spoke the universe into existence. Along with praise, there are other sounds which hold this power – the word of prayer, the prophetic word, the preached word. All possess the power to create when spoken.
Most of us are familiar with sonic boom, the noise created by aircraft breaking the sound barrier. Scientists have also discovered what they call sonic bloom. A military man who witnessed the devastation in Korea returned there after the war with a desire to help restore the nation and its economy. He discovered the impact that the sounds of nature could have on agriculture. In the U.S. we don’t apply this technology due to the lobbying of agro-chemical companies. But other nations around the world that do are experiencing two or three growth cycles in one year.
The man discovered that the song of the birds at dawn is perfectly timed. Their singing causes the plants to open up and drink freely of the morning dew for nourishment. By aiming the sounds of bird songs and waterfalls at crops, he could increase their productivity by 400 percent.
The sound of praise has much the same effect. When we praise, we open up our spirits to God. We drink deeply of heaven’s nourishment. And worship produces a fruitfulness in our lives which nothing else will bring. The reason many people and many churches are barren is that there is no sound of praise. There is a connection between worship and the harvest. The kind of harvest we long for is only released as we rise to new levels of worship.
I am not sure, as mere human beings, we can fully appreciate everything that goes on when we praise. But it must be a pretty big deal to God. His Word says, “Praise from the upright is beautiful” (Ps. 33:1). When we reach heaven, the angels will never say, “Your pews and stained glass windows were beautiful. We have been admiring them up here for years.” It will never happen. But when we praise, God says, “Now that is beautiful.” There is nothing else like it to Him.
Scripture teaches that in eternity past there were three divisions of angels in the administration of God. Gabriel was over the Word-bearing angels. Michael was over the warring angels. And Lucifer was over the worshipping angels. When the worship leader was thrown out, the choir left with him. The Bible suggests choirs in heaven in eternity past and pictures them in the future in Revelation. Between those two times, no choir is ever mentioned. The one possible exception would be at Jesus’ birth (Lk. 2:13). But technically, that text says they spoke and shouted their praises. The point is that when God wants to hear a song, He comes to church. There is nowhere else He can go to hear anything quite like it.
Today, worship styles vary widely. There is nothing wrong with that. God likes variety. Often, you can pick out a gospel song on the radio, regardless of its style. There is just something different about it. I frankly think God enjoys the myriad of ways people praise Him. While various veins of the body have their distinctives, so do Pentecostals. We should never be ashamed of that. We, too, have a sound all our own. Whatever your sound is, just make it (Ps. 66:1). God likes it. You have a sound to offer God that no one else has.
